Bold 2023 Vikings and NFL predictions (part 2)

The first 25 prognostications were not nearly enough so it's time to bring the best predictions we've got for Part 2

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By Matthew Coller

Hopefully everyone caught Part 1 of our bold predictions for 2023 because we’ve got 25 more and they’re coming fast and furious so let’s dive right in…

26. Of the Vikings who left, Dalvin Tomlinson will have the highest PFF grade

Just to recap: Adam Thielen signed with the Panthers, Patrick Peterson went to Pittsburgh, Eric Kendricks is a Los Angeles Charger, Za’Darius Smith and Dalvin Tomlinson are Cleveland Browns and Dalvin Cook hasn’t signed anywhere yet. Each of those players will have a chance to play a major role for their team but Tomlinson could be the best acquisition of any ex Viking. The beefy nose tackle is the only one who is still in his prime and he elevated himself as a pass rusher over the last two seasons. Smith showed in 2022 that he can certainly still dominate but if the second half of the season was predictive he might not be the same as his peak.

27. Aidan O’Connell will start when the Vikings face the Las Vegas Raiders

Jimmy Garoppolo’s health situation has not been great recently. Out of 50 games he could have started over the last three seasons, Garoppolo has only been on the field for 32 of them and he was banged up in a fair percentage of those. The 31-year-old’s health is even a part of his contract with the Raiders, so it’s hard to expect him to be playing by December — and the Raiders might also be in tough shape and turn things over to their fourth-round pick.

28. Teams will regret not drafting receivers higher

This guy is too short. This guy doesn’t have perfect hands. That guy didn’t eat enough cheeseburgers before his weigh-in at the Combine. The flawed receiving class did not impress the NFL enough to get picked over two running backs but each of them will get a shot to play a big role with their team right away. Jaxon Smith-Njigba will take the pressure off DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, Quentin Johnston could be a major quick-game option for Justin Herbert, Zay Flowers has a chance to be the best receiver Lamar Jackson has had in Baltimore and Jordan Addison could win the WR2 spot early in the year if things fall his way.

Even if these receivers are good and not the next Terrell Owens, they will be more valuable to their teams than more replaceable positions that were taken higher. We have seen lots of instances of the NFL being too critical of receivers like Justin Jefferson, Deebo Samuel and AJ Brown, none of whom were taken at the top but each became All-Pros.

29. Mekhi Blackmon will play more snaps than Andrew Booth Jr.

Admittedly, this is probably making too much of the minicamp depth chart but if we get out the tinfoil hat and follow some blue checks on Twitter we can tie together all the threads. Blackmon was picked with Brian Flores as defensive coordinator whereas Andrew Booth Jr. was taken with Ed Donatell in charge. He has a reputation as a bulldog despite his size and his best skill is tracking receivers in man-to-man coverage. And because of Booth Jr.’s injuries, he doesn’t have much more experience than Blackmon. The draft status isn’t different by enough to matter here either. Mekhi is the guy.

30. Mac Jones will be considered the Patriots’ franchise QB by the end of ‘23

There’s no spinning how bad Mac Jones was last season and one can only imagine how putrid his stats would have been if not for Ed Donatell’s help on Thanksgiving. But quarterbacks like Jones flip-flop all the time based on their surroundings. Jones will have a real offensive coordinator this year, a strong supporting running game and some better weapons with Juju Smith-Schuster and tight end Mike Gesecki. Maybe DeAndre Hopkins will even show up there at some point. Usually Year 3 is very telling with young QBs, so if he plays reasonably well he’s going to be a Patriot for a while.

31. Another QB outside of Caleb Williams or Drake Maye will be picked in the top 10

Did anybody know who Anthony Richardson was at this time last year? Nope. There are some quarterbacks in college football who could have it all come together and emerge as potential top selections. Spencer Rattler seemed to find something in the second half of last year. Maybe it’s him or Bo Nix or whoever. There will be a sleeper. There’s almost always a sleeper. Though we can’t always trust the NFL Draft media on who that will be — cough, cough Malik Willis, Will Levis, Desmond Ridder.

32. Despite new kickoff rules, Kene Nwangwu will gain 1,000 yards returning

Returners will have the option of catching the ball anywhere with a fair catch and getting it automatically placed at the 25-yard line. Does that sound like something Matt Daniels is going to do with a 4.3 speed runner who has three touchdown returns in the last two years? I don’t think so. In fact, with teams having fewer and fewer reps covering returns, it might be a legitimate edge to be the team that actually pressures them to cover a return every time. For context, Nwangwu had 920 return yards last year.

33. Dallas will enter the playoffs as favorites to win the NFC

Those Cowboys, always flying under the radar, am I right? OK, the most obnoxiously over-analyzed team in sports did some stuff this offseason that might make them better than last year, like getting rid of Zeke Elliott and adding Brandin Cooks and Stephon Gilmore. Even if Philly still looks like a juggernaut, it’s really hard to be that good in back-to-back years. If they regress a little, the Cowboys could take their place at the top if the NFC by the end of the regular season — and then lose in the Wild Card round in hilarious fashion because Mike McCarthy.

34. Brian Flores’s defense will be improved but won’t crack the top 18 in points against

It’s safe to say Flores will have a positive impact on the Vikings’ defense in comparison to the Vanilla Ice Cream Scheme they ran in 2022. The combination of aggressiveness and development of young DBs alone should give it a boost. But unless they find the next Xavier Rhodes and Everson Griffen, it’s hard to see the defense being great. It will make a lot more sense though and that’s progress.

35. The Steelers will keep Mike Tomlin’s streak alive but questions about Kenny Pickett will remain

Is Kenny Pickett 2023 what Teddy Bridgewater was to the Vikings in 2015? He isn’t wildly gifted but has some impressive leadership qualities and a gamer-ness to him that helped grind the Steelers to a 7-5 record. Is there really a super high ceiling there though? Tomlin can coach a sack of Primanti Brothers sandwiches to a winning record so Pittsburgh will not be an easy W but it still won’t be obvious that Pickett is the guy. Like 2022 Mac Jones with good coaching.

36. Aidan Hutchinson will have 12.0 sacks or more

Does anyone want to talk about the Jaguars passing on Hutchinson? Too soon? He looks like a beast. Bad break for the Vikings that he’s in the division.

37. The Packers will be forced to learn a new word: Rebuilding

If you look at Green Bay’s salary cap situation for 2024, it looks like when the Saints were going all-in every year for Drew Brees. Except they do not have Drew Brees — I think. They kept a lot of key parts to support Jordan Love but even if he’s good at they make the playoffs, the young parts are going to matter most because they can’t keep everyone. A strange new world.

38. Justin Herbert will return to the 5,000-yard club

Their new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is going to sling the rock, man.

39. TJ Hockenson will rank No. 2 in the NFL in tight end targets

Maybe this isn’t bold because it happened last year but Hockenson has a chance to be considered one of top three or four tight ends in the NFL when the dust settles on this season. He never had that designation in Detroit. Something about Minnesota was simply a fit for him last year and there’s no reason to see that changing (aside from injury).

40. A non-defensive lineman or edge rusher) will rank in the top 3 in Viking sacks

The No. 3 and 4 ranked sackers on the 2021 Dolphins were an inside linebacker and safety. Flores is bringing the heat and players outside of the D-line are going to benefit. And boy do they need those guys to get to the quarterback considering the state of the pass rush, particularly if Danielle Hunter goes.

41. John Michael Schmitz will be the highest graded PFF rookie lineman

The former Gopher dominated college football and has all the chops and experience to step in right away and command the middle of the Giants’ O-line. Him dropping into the second round as far as he did was reminiscent of Antoine Winfield Jr. Gopher fans are well aware of the talent, even if there wasn’t much hype.

42. The Harrison Smith Hall of Fame discussion will flare up with his seventh Pro Bowl

Flores and Smith seems like a match made in football heaven. I’ve written before that Smith doesn’t quite have the accolades to get the Hall’s attention right now (usually it takes multiple All-Pros and more deep playoff runs). There are a number of non-HOFer defensive backs with six Pro Bowls i.e. Tim McDonald and Dennis Smith. A seventh though? Darrelle Revis and Darrell Green have seven. Earl Thomas has seven. That’s rare air. Obviously Pro Bowls is a silly way to evaluate and the PFF grades and box score stats tell a better story but awards are still unfortunately a guidepost for these things for voters.

43. Ryan Wright will have a 75-yard punt and complete two passes

In 2023 Wright boomed a punt 73 yards and went 1-for-2 passing. Progress for Mr. Wright.

44. Justin Jefferson throws a touchdown pass of 20+ yards

Last year I predicted Jefferson would throw a touchdown and he didn’t get one in three pass attempts. Calling the shot here. He’s so good at throwing the ball that they have to keep going back to this well.

45. Kevin O’Connell will rank in the top 5 in fourth down attempts

If there is a year to let loose, it’s this one. The Vikings are likely to be playing in a lot of close games and O’Connell was 10th by Football Outsiders’ aggressiveness index. Time to rise up those rankings.

46. The Buffalo Bills only win 10 games and Stefon Diggs tweets something really wild

The AFC East is going to be incredibly difficult and the Bills did not do much to get better this offseason (assuming they don’t land Hopkins). We also know the dangers of pretending that drama with Diggs isn’t a sign of something happening behind the scenes, so keep it locked to his social media for extremely meta tweets.

47. Lewis Cine plays more than 500 snaps

This is where I’m not overreacting to minicamp. While Cam Bynum and Josh Metellus are both quality players, Cine is too physically gifted for Flores to leave him standing on the sideline twittling his thumbs. What role he finds for Cine or whether he can win the starting job is yet to be seen.

48. Doug Pederson wins coach of the year

Last season’s Jaguars barely got into the playoffs, so they were a cute story after the Urb Meyer Reign of Terror. Now they are a mature team ready to win and the competition isn’t all that stiff in the AFC South. If they win 11 or 12 games and Trevor Lawrence is great, Pederson is going to get a ton of love.

49. There’s at least one rumor of Tom Brady coming out of retirement when a QB gets hurt

Was it the 49ers who called Big Ben last year? Oh yeah, this is happening.

50. The kicking will be fine

I saved the boldest take for last. Greg Joseph had some troubles with extra points in 2022 but got it together and was ultimately an OK kicker. He will be alright this year with no drama. What’s that? A jinx you say? Testing fate? Hmmmmm.

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